Book: Luke for Everyone

One of my biggest frustrations with trying to read scripture has been its opacity. I just can't seem to get beyond the superficial and the obvious. (I wonder if that's why excessively literal approaches have often had appeal for me.)

Now, I'm not a bad reader. At one point I thought about being an English major. I can unravel themes and pick out subtleties in literature, especially when it's written in more recent English. But scripture has always seemed so impenetrable. Maybe it's for this reason that I'm loving Luke for Everyone so much. Tom Wright brings his historical scholarship to bear on the Gospel of Luke, filling in the gaps for people like me.

For instance, the Augustus Caesar in Luke 2 is the adopted son of Julius Caesar. After his death, Augustus declared his father was divine, and styled himself as "son of God." In that context, Jesus' claims not only connect him with Jewish scriptures but also pit him against worldly claims to authority:

The birth of this little boy is the beginning of a confrontation between the kingdom of God -- in all its apparent weakness, insignificance and vulnerability -- and the kingdoms of the world.

For once, I'm excited at the possibility that scripture might have so many layers for me to wade in.